What do you think?
Rate this book
The Highest In Us
The Highest In Us
115 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
3 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Truman G. Madsen
72 books61 followersTruman Grant Madsen was an American professor of religion and philosophy at Brigham Young University (BYU) and director of the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. He was a prolific author, a recognized authority on Joseph Smith Jr., and a popular lecturer among Latter-day Saints. At one point, Madsen was an instructor at the LDS Institute of Religion in Berkeley, California.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 3, 2009
This is one of a handful of life-changing books for me. I cannot recommend it too highly. It is written for a specific audience, however, one who understands scripture, and the nature of a loving God who sent us to this mortal life in order to provide experiences that would teach, stretch, test, and refine us as we follow the example of the Savior and accept and are changed by His essential, life-giving atonement.
The Highest In Us explores the spark of divine within each of us, that yearning for something more, something better, that each of us has felt at some time in life. Wordsworth verbalized, and this book testifies that we have come literally "trailing clouds of glory . . from God who is our home."
Chapters explore:
Freedom -- while freedom from tyranny and oppression is worth fighting and dying for, the freedom to become what you have in you to become is the assignment of mortality and the quest of the eternities.
The Lord's statement, "I am the life," is literal -- more so than we might ever imagine. One of the universal absolutes is that life can only come from life -- something dead cannot produce something living. And so the atonement is absolutely essential.
If we aspire for things higher, we will be required to face tests like Abraham's, in which we must decide in the deepest part of our souls who we are, what we stand for, and whom we serve. The faith required to pass such a test becomes a source of eternal power to stand firm in the face of darkness, temptation, and the crumbling of society around us.
Prayer is a reaching upward for divine help. It is also a revelatory process in which the real, living, loving Lord manifests His direction, guidance, comfort, and truth to our souls -- the kind of thing that changes lives, that refines and ultimately exalts us.
The temple is "not just a union of heaven and earth. It is the key to our mastery of the earth. . . . A house of learning? Yes, and we learn more than about the earth, we learn ourselves. . . . It is intended therein we not simply learn of or about Christ, but that we come to know him" and actually change as we strive to become like Him, following His example in our relationships, our work and activities, and our innermost desires. It is the culmination and the representation of the greatest joy available to mankind, now and forever.
The Highest In Us explores the spark of divine within each of us, that yearning for something more, something better, that each of us has felt at some time in life. Wordsworth verbalized, and this book testifies that we have come literally "trailing clouds of glory . . from God who is our home."
Chapters explore:
Freedom -- while freedom from tyranny and oppression is worth fighting and dying for, the freedom to become what you have in you to become is the assignment of mortality and the quest of the eternities.
The Lord's statement, "I am the life," is literal -- more so than we might ever imagine. One of the universal absolutes is that life can only come from life -- something dead cannot produce something living. And so the atonement is absolutely essential.
If we aspire for things higher, we will be required to face tests like Abraham's, in which we must decide in the deepest part of our souls who we are, what we stand for, and whom we serve. The faith required to pass such a test becomes a source of eternal power to stand firm in the face of darkness, temptation, and the crumbling of society around us.
Prayer is a reaching upward for divine help. It is also a revelatory process in which the real, living, loving Lord manifests His direction, guidance, comfort, and truth to our souls -- the kind of thing that changes lives, that refines and ultimately exalts us.
The temple is "not just a union of heaven and earth. It is the key to our mastery of the earth. . . . A house of learning? Yes, and we learn more than about the earth, we learn ourselves. . . . It is intended therein we not simply learn of or about Christ, but that we come to know him" and actually change as we strive to become like Him, following His example in our relationships, our work and activities, and our innermost desires. It is the culmination and the representation of the greatest joy available to mankind, now and forever.
February 10, 2009
Truman madsen explains our potential in this life and how we can obtain it supremely well. He is a master of words and I am grateful for the contents of this book. It answers a lot of questions and leaves me wanting to learn more. It is a must read.
September 25, 2023
Fantastic book!
Natalie wrote this and I agree!
This is one of a handful of life-changing books for me. I cannot recommend it too highly. It is written for a specific audience, however, one who understands scripture, and the nature of a loving God who sent us to this mortal life in order to provide experiences that would teach, stretch, test, and refine us as we follow the example of the Savior and accept and are changed by His essential, life-giving atonement.
The Highest In Us explores the spark of divine within each of us, that yearning for something more, something better, that each of us has felt at some time in life. Wordsworth verbalized, and this book testifies that we have come literally "trailing clouds of glory . . from God who is our home."
Chapters explore:
Freedom -- while freedom from tyranny and oppression is worth fighting and dying for, the freedom to become what you have in you to become is the assignment of mortality and the quest of the eternities.
The Lord's statement, "I am the life," is literal -- more so than we might ever imagine. One of the universal absolutes is that life can only come from life -- something dead cannot produce something living. And so the atonement is absolutely essential.
If we aspire for things higher, we will be required to face tests like Abraham's, in which we must decide in the deepest part of our souls who we are, what we stand for, and whom we serve. The faith required to pass such a test becomes a source of eternal power to stand firm in the face of darkness, temptation, and the crumbling of society around us.
Prayer is a reaching upward for divine help. It is also a revelatory process in which the real, living, loving Lord manifests His direction, guidance, comfort, and truth to our souls -- the kind of thing that changes lives, that refines and ultimately exalts us.
The temple is "not just a union of heaven and earth. It is the key to our mastery of the earth. . . . A house of learning? Yes, and we learn more than about the earth, we learn ourselves. . . . It is intended therein we not simply learn of or about Christ, but that we come to know him" and actually change as we strive to become like Him, following His example in our relationships, our work and activities, and our innermost desires. It is the culmination and the representation of the greatest joy available to mankind, now and forever.
all-time-favorites
christ-centered
Natalie wrote this and I agree!
This is one of a handful of life-changing books for me. I cannot recommend it too highly. It is written for a specific audience, however, one who understands scripture, and the nature of a loving God who sent us to this mortal life in order to provide experiences that would teach, stretch, test, and refine us as we follow the example of the Savior and accept and are changed by His essential, life-giving atonement.
The Highest In Us explores the spark of divine within each of us, that yearning for something more, something better, that each of us has felt at some time in life. Wordsworth verbalized, and this book testifies that we have come literally "trailing clouds of glory . . from God who is our home."
Chapters explore:
Freedom -- while freedom from tyranny and oppression is worth fighting and dying for, the freedom to become what you have in you to become is the assignment of mortality and the quest of the eternities.
The Lord's statement, "I am the life," is literal -- more so than we might ever imagine. One of the universal absolutes is that life can only come from life -- something dead cannot produce something living. And so the atonement is absolutely essential.
If we aspire for things higher, we will be required to face tests like Abraham's, in which we must decide in the deepest part of our souls who we are, what we stand for, and whom we serve. The faith required to pass such a test becomes a source of eternal power to stand firm in the face of darkness, temptation, and the crumbling of society around us.
Prayer is a reaching upward for divine help. It is also a revelatory process in which the real, living, loving Lord manifests His direction, guidance, comfort, and truth to our souls -- the kind of thing that changes lives, that refines and ultimately exalts us.
The temple is "not just a union of heaven and earth. It is the key to our mastery of the earth. . . . A house of learning? Yes, and we learn more than about the earth, we learn ourselves. . . . It is intended therein we not simply learn of or about Christ, but that we come to know him" and actually change as we strive to become like Him, following His example in our relationships, our work and activities, and our innermost desires. It is the culmination and the representation of the greatest joy available to mankind, now and forever.
all-time-favorites
christ-centered
February 3, 2020
This is filled with spiritually uplifting informationShort read. Excellent
September 6, 2007
This is a collection of essays or talks given in the 1970s. Some of them are excellent, and some are a little confusing. It felt like the author left out a lot of stuff, hoping the reader/listener would figure out the blanks. That may have been possible in the right context, but so much time has passed since this was published that it's nothing but frustrating now.
CMB
CMB
May 7, 2008
Essays by one of my favorite LDS scholars. He teaches that we must learn to see upward in order to see inward. Many of his essays deal with the temple and its further light and knowledge.
November 19, 2008
Reference book for church subjects
October 6, 2012
I stumbled on this book. It was given to me by Mom and Dad at Christmas 1978. I like the short essays. Nourishes my soul. It is a short read. I should be done in a week.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews